Blog Post #4

Listening, Comprhension, and Podcasting

This article illustrated the use of creating podcasts with students in order to teach another language. It focused more on the function of the podcast rather than the steps it took to create it. In this classroom, the podcast was created, manipulated, edited, and finished by the students. SmartBoards were used in the editing process, which I thought was brilliant because it brought upon more physical cooperation from the kids.

I thoroughly enjoyed this article. I found it intriguing that the teachers chose a podcast as their mode of teaching a second language. They did not take a traditional reading, writing, and repeating approach as most foreign language teachers choose. I also liked how the teachers purposefully mixed up the sentences of their students' recordings so they would have to go back and edit them correctly. That makes the students think more deeply about their project and get more involved.

Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

This video focuses on how incorporating podcasts is beneficiary to students because it offers differentiation, focuses project based learning, and can get the students more involved. Podcasting can also benefit students that become sick and have to miss school. Podcasts allow students to download assignments, lectures, and information directly from the internet. Not only is podcasting beneficial to students, but it is also great for parents because it allows them to take a look into what is going on in the classroom.

I found this video to be helpful in that it let me see how versatile using podcasts in the classroom could be. I've never used or even listened to a podcast before starting this assignment. After reading the first article, I assumed podcasts were strictly auditory. After watching this video I saw that podcasts can be made into videos as well. That offers more versatility within the classroom. The prospect of making short videos with my classroom is exciting because it will be more entertaining for my future students and keep them interested.

Podcasting with First Graders

This article was written by a first grade teacher. She writes about how she incorporated podcasting with her kids. After reading a short story with her students she had them act as if they were interviewing the main characters. The students took turns acting out each part. Some students opted out of acting and chose to stay behind the scenes to edit. The teacher goes on to say that this activity really brought out the confidence in her students and unified them as a class.

I enjoyed this article immensely. In this article the teacher wrote which skills that this project helped her students with. The list was quite lengthy! That is what gets me excited. This one project got her students so excited and involved, and it worked on so many different skill sets. From technological interaction to oral fluency, this project really covered everything. I absolutely loved it.